DATE: Thursday, November 27, 1997           TAG: 9711270678

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   43 lines

BEACH POLICE ARREST 3 IN MAILBOX BOMBINGS ARRESTED: 2 UNIDENTIFIED JUVENILES, 1 ADULT. WHAT'S NEXT: POLICE STILL SEARCHING FOR 2ND ADULT.

Fire Department investigators said Wednesday they have solved a series of vandalism bombings that destroyed mailboxes in several neighborhoods, after one of the four people responsible for the crimes came forward and confessed.

The investigators charged an adult and two juveniles with crimes involving bomb-making. An arrest is pending for another adult, Fire Department spokesman Gary Weidener said.

Fire investigators made the arrests four days after searching a house in the 4300 block of Country Club Circle, where at least one of the bombs was made, according to a search-warrant affidavit made public Wednesday. Investigators found explosive powders and hardware-store receipts in that home, owned by Raymond and Margaret Armstrong.

Fire officials charged Jason Armstrong, an adult who lives at that address, with making, having or using an explosive device, and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Jason Armstrong's age was not available. The two juveniles face similar charges. Their names weren't released because of their ages.

Authorities also declined to release the name of an adult being sought because he has not yet been charged with a crime.

Investigators were also granted court permission to search a second home, in the 1600 block of Whitethorne Road, after the informant said at least one bomb was made there, too. However records don't show if that home, owned by Adolf and Anna Jerabek, was actually searched.

The series of four bombings started Nov. 11 and ended a day later with a powerful blast that destroyed a brick-encased mailbox in the Wishart Cove neighborhood. That blast reduced Margaret Karn's streetside mailbox to rubble, and propelled debris more than 100 feet into neighbors' yards.

A pipe bomb was used to destroy Karn's mailbox, the affidavit said.

No one was hurt in the bombings, but some residents were frightened by the explosions.

Authorities said the bombs were unsophisticated and could be made from household materials found in virtually any garage or workshop. They lacked any type of timing mechanism, and relied on fuses.

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